Portable electric light



I I. M. KoIIETzKY.

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. Io. 1920.

1,392,420,v Patented oen 4, 1921.

' be readilyv applied UNITED siulx'rls4 PATENT' OFFICE.

` i HARRY M. RORRTZKY, oFpNEW YoRx, N. Y,

PORTABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT. Y i

T0 aiZZww/m, t may concer/ni: I

I Be it known that I, HARRY M. KQRETZKY, a citizen ofthe United States, residing in New York city, State of New York, have invented, a certain Improvement in Portable Electric Lights, of which the following is a specification.l

The present invention relates to certain improvements in that class of portable electric lights in which the'current is supplied to a lamp bulb carried at one end of a casing, from a battery within such casing; and the principal object of the invention is to provide a cheap and reliable mounting for the lamp and its usual reflector which may either to a metal or nonmetallic casing. The improvement is yso constructedland arrangedY as tc avoid connecting any external metal parts to opposite battery'poles, thereby preventing all danger of running down the battery by accidental short-circuits. Another advantage of the invention is'found in the fact thatit makes the assembling of the entire apparatus very simple, and lessens the expense of labor and material involved in what may be called the internal wiring of the casing.

A minor vfeature of the improvement fre lates to a novel'push-button arrangement whereby the lighting of the lamp is c ontrolledV at will. Y

Certain preferred forms ofthe invention are illustrated. in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein FigureV 1 'is a view in longitudinal section of a Ymetallic casing provided withl theimprovements in question, Fig. 2 is a similar view of a fiber (or other insulating) casing provided with the inven tion, Fig. 3 is an elevation of the push button and its coverv plate, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same,'Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the same on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a. modified form of contact plate.

In Fig. 1the battery 10, with its insulating covering 11, is shown within the metal casing 12, being confined by the screw cap 13, which vis provided with the spring 14, whose function is to create a firm contact of the upper or carbon end of the battery with the central lamp terminal and, at the same time, to provide electrical connection between the zinc in the lowermost battery cell and the cap and casing. All of this is, ofcourse, well known in the art.

In order to complete the circuit, when dey p speicanonof Lettersratenf. Patented Oct, 4, 1921 .Application ined March 1o, '1920. serial No. 354,635;

sired, in a mannerl hereafterv described, Va 'I contact plate is employed which is. permanently in electricaly connection with the external or screw-.threaded `terminal. of the lamp bulb, and is placed between the side of the upper endlof the insulated .batteryv and the interior of the casing, but ywithout touching this latter.

The contact plate preferably takes the form of an extension `-upon a vcylinder adapt-ed to carry the lamp bulb and its reflector, which fits within the vend'oftheY ex ternal battery-containing casing.

In the form shown in Fig. 1 the cylinder in question is shown at 15, and is provided with a'downward extension or projection 16, which takes the form of a complete cylindrical skirt. VThis skirt'is ada ted to fit snugly over the upper end of tiie battery, thus assisting in centering the same within the casing. The skirt 16 is preferably slit at intervals as indicated in dotted lines at 17, in o-rderto give it resilience and to accommodate slight differences in the sizes of the batteriesj j The upper end of the ring '15 is nearly closed by a top 18, having a depending central threaded sleeve 19, into which screws the lamp bulb stem 20, with or without. a reflector 23.

Toprevent shortncircuit, the ringy 15 is provided with 4an insulating covering 21, which'ts snugly within the 150.13 0f the casing, and, in order `the better to place the whole', insulation 22 is provided, which fits over the ring 15 and extends outward sufficiently to rest upon the end of the casing 12.

This insulation preferably takes the form of a separate washer secured and under the reflector 23.

The reflector 23 is also held in place in any convenient manner, as by the threaded neck passing through the insulation 22. This reflector does not touch any external metal part.

The parts described are all held in place preferably by the usual lens 24 and lens holderv25 the latter screwing onto the upper end of the casing 12.

Where the casing which carries the battery is made of fiber or other insulating material, the insulation 21, 22, may be dispensed with. This is shown in Fig. 2, wherein the casing 12 is supposed to be made of fiber, and where the ring 15 is supported by a ange 26 resting on the end of the casing,

' may be limited laterally; or instance in the form of a finger 27. It is onl necessar to make sure that this comes-un er the en `of the contact-making spring.

This last named spring is shown at 28. fixed at its lower end under a covering plate Y 29, and having a contact-making ti (preferablyrecurved) as shown at 30. his tip can be pressed down through the opening 31 in the casing 12 by means of apseparable push button 32, held and guided b the cover plate 29 until said tip touches t e interior contact plate extension 16 '(or 27).

This contact closes the circuit through the lamp. and through the metallic casing l2 and cover casing 29, in the lform shown in Fig. 1.

Inthe form shown in Fig. 2 the lamp is also llighted by this contact, but, in this instance, thev current passes from the cap 13 to the cover casing 29 by means of the metal screw ring 33, and the internal conducting strip 34. f e

Where prolonged contact is desired, the spring.v 28 can be held down against the interior contact plate by means of la supplemental button 35, which lmay be made to slide forward on the cover` plate 29. This button has an inwardlyprojecting vportion 36 which carries a cam plate whose curved portion37 rests normally within the curve 38 on the spring 28. hen this cam is pushed forward by means of the sliding button 35, it presses against the part of the spring 28-in front ofthe curve 38,'thereby v depressing the spring and causing operative A contact as above described. Upon drawing back the button 35, the normal position shownin Fig. 4 is restored, and the contact is broken.

Various changes can be made inthe apparatus above described without departing fromY the scope of. the invention, and the claims are not intended to be limited to the details herein shown and described.

What I claim is- 1. A portable electric light comprisingan external battery-containing casing, a lamp* bulb carried thereby, a removable contact plate adapted to be slipped into position between the easing and battery, said contact plate being connected electricallyv with the 2. The apparatus set forth Vgenerally in'V claim 1 hereof, wherein the removable contact plate takes the form of an extension` on contact with said remov` a cylinder fitting into the end ofthe external casing. c

3. The apparatus set forth generally in claim 1 hereof wherein the Aremovable contactfplate takesthe form ofa cylindrical battery when inserted. Y

4. The apparatus set forthfgenerally in claim 1 hereof wherein the removable contact plate forms an extended portion of a ring surrounded by insulating material adapted to fit into the external casing.`V

5. Apparatus of the character set forth generally in claim 1 wherein the contact plate takes the form of a metal cylinder adapted to fit the casing and having an extended portion overlapping the battery to form a contact member, said cylinder .being partly clos'ed at one end by a wall provided with a central threaded ortion. Y

In testimony w ereof I have -hereto set'my hand lon this 2nd day of March, 1920.-

skirt adapted to fit over the upper end of the HARRYM. KORETZKY. e 

